Bringing Up the Past
by A wee Moose
Summary: A painful look at Alice's past
1. Chapter 1

**March 1, 2387 Lt. Alister Maxwell Shuttlebay (exiting the Avro Arrow)**

Stepping out of the Avro Arrow, Maxwell appears to be in his mid or late thirties. Has a mid to heavy set build, brown reddish hair, blue eyes and a contagious smile. He is wearing the black, grey duty uniform and carrying a bag and 2 boxes probably containing his personal belongings.

"Good day to you Captain. Nice to finally meet you in person." He puts the boxes and the bag down on the cargobay floor. Straightens his uniform by jerking it and shakes the glove wearing hand of the captain.

"Likewise, lieutenant" Captain Stryker replied and continued to introduce the first officer, the ships doctor and security chief. "And you ve already met our ships counselor."

"Yes, I have." Delore noticed the new engineers surprised face when he saw a Gorn on duty as the ships security officer. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Your belongings will be transported to your quarters momentarily. I now have other matter to attend to but I am sure Archer is more than willing to give you a tour of the ship."

"Thanks, captain." Maxwell answered as he turned to her as the others exited the shuttlebay.

"Perhaps you re interested in seeing your office and the engineering decks?" She asked him in a polite way.

"Yes. I d like that but first, is there any place that a man can get his coffee ?" he said with a grin.

"Yes there is Mr. Maxwell" Stryker said, "Deck 18 Forward, Dot's Diner"

*******

**Chapter 2 **

**March 1, 2387**

USS Pretoria hung in space like a spider hanging from its web, back lit by a nebula mainly blue, with hints of green, purple, black and whites.

Alister and Kathryn Delore walked into Dot's Diner. Alister got his coffee and looked around when a familiar sight greeted his eyes. By the large wrap-around windows sat a woman chatting to a Bolian man.

He walked over to the woman, "Alice ?"

Alister was very surprised. Alice looked at him for about 10 seconds before she finally remembered, she could not hide her shock, another ghost from her past.

For both of them this brings back a lot of memories.

********

**Chapter 3 **

**October 28, 2372**

**Ensign Alister Maxwell. Infiltration mission, Frontier world of Banidar III. Assignment USS Repulse.**

The rock face surrounded him in all directions. No one could ever have seen him beam down to the surface. That s at least a good start he thought to himself. He looked up and around and found no sign of people on the steep hills. From his loose fitting jacket he took picked up a Rigellian communications device, well at least it appeared to be. In fact it was a Starfleet communicator disguised as Rigellian. The security chief on the Repulse had done a good job in providing equipment that looked anything else but Starfleet. This was his first checkpoint. The communicator smirked as he pushed the speak button and he said. "It is a beautiful day and I ll go for a stroll. Let s see if I can find some exotic birds for you."

Commander Davies's answer was short but it had flavour. "Good luck and good hunting farmboy." Davies and Alister had never agreed on anything and Alister was happy not having to deal with Davies on a daily basis. It was two scoops job, being the chief engineer and all.

The young ensign grabbed a branch from a small dry tree growing on the edge of the hill sloping down towards the lush village below. The small river divided the little town and cut the valley in half. It glimmered in the sunlight and was a sharp contrast to the surrounding vegetation.

Nightfall Moon Over Mayhem Bar

The bar was filled with people of different species and cultures. After studying the crowd from his place at the bar he realized that he had gone in to the wrong establishment. I was supposed to infiltrate the Marquis. Somehow I don t think that this is their main recruitment zone. Indeed, most of the customers in the bar were Cardassian although he spotted one occasional human or Ferengi.

Most of the visitors were dressed in casual clothes. These people were not military, at least not in appearance. He knew that at least one of the Obsidian Order agent on this world. He finished the sweet tasting juice and started to walk out of the bar.

Luckily he had chosen to stay at a hotel a few blocks from there. At least it would not be apparent that he was working against the same goals as the Cardassians. Capture the Marquis in this system.

As he approached the exit his eyes met with an Asian woman with bright red hair. A hulking Cardassian farmer (by the looks of what he was wearing) seemed to be willing to share more than the table with her. As Alister passed by she reached out and grabbed a hold of his left arm. He halted and looked at her.

"Hold it. I need a real man to drink with." She nodded towards her current company and the large bottle of cheap whiskey on the table. The Cardassian didn t approve of that but he didn t say anything. Alister looked at the Cardassian, clearly measuring him up. It was a provoking posture and it made the Cardassian even more annoyed but still he said nothing.

Alister reached over to the bar and took a shooter glass from the counter. He rinsed it with his sleeve and put the glass on the table next to the bottle. "I can see that." The redhead started to pour the glass in front of him.

"Be careful, I am surprised that someone here have the guts to sit at the same table as I without being asked to." The Cardassian said in a threatening tone. Alister emptied the glass and made a hissing sound as the beverage burned in his mouth. The redhead drank with him but she didn t flinch. It was like drinking water for her.

"I was asked to the table." He replied dryly and put his shot down in front of the woman.

The Cardassian stood up, grabbed Alister by the neck and smashed his face into the table. The woman hit the Cardassian with the bottle. The Cardassian went down, falling to the floor.

The red-haired woman grabbing the closest Ferengi and sent him flying into a wooden wall. The Ferengi slid down the wall like a broken doll.

Before the second Cardassian could react, Alister was upon him. His first strike sent the guard's weapon flying across the room. He swept one leg out, catching him just below the knees. A swift blow to the chest left the guard gasping for breath, another punch knocked him unconscious.

Five Cardassians approached Alister and the mystery woman. "Can you fight ?" she asked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 4 (October 28, 2372)**

Alister awoke to strange sounds and a massive headache. He realized that he only barely survived the bar fight, and his body is screaming at him for it.

He opened his eyes to find an alien woman watching over him. Her skin was blue. Her black hair, which framed her face, was decorated with beads. "How are you feeling?" she asked, handing him a glass of water.

"Am I dead ?" he asked. She did not answer, the strange woman left. Alister eventually got up, got dressed and went outside.

Alister examined the courtyard. The town was brightly alive with soft patches of grass and people planting flowers. Flower petals floated lazily through the hot air as the swirls of colour wound through the skies, and the cobbled paths were hardly empty, every person at work. The houses were made of sandstone and clay, with large flagstones in the ground leading the outside perimeter of the town.

A Chinese woman walked up from behind, she had very short red hair, dark eyes, about 55 years old, "You said Fairy, Am I still alive ?" she started, "Well, actually your fate depends on your opinion on the Cardassians"

Three young girls were standing nearby, supervising a group of 23 younger children in a playground. "Those are my daughters" Rika told Alister with pride, "Jubilee, Alice and Sakura"

Rika took Alister for a walk to test him, a few days later she took him to their Cell Leader to join the Marquis.

********

**Chapter 5 (March 1, 2387) - Dot's Diner**

"Those were happier times" Alice admitted.

Kwai Tsuta come around, another coffee for Alister and rusks, Spicy Samoosas and a milkshake for Alice. Alice realized that Alister is not quite willing or wanting to talk about the past.

A slow purposeful melody started to play on the stage. Rachael Skarsten was dared by her security co-workers to do Karaoke tonight,

""A letter to my future self Am I still happy? I began Have I grown up pretty?  
Is Daddy still a good man?  
Am I still friends with Colleen?

I'm sure that I'm still laughing ...Aren't I?  
Aren't I?

Hey there, to my future self  
If you forget how to smile I have this to tell you  
Remember it once in a while

Ten years ago, your past self Prayed for your happiness  
Please don't lose hope  
Oh, oh what a pair, me and you  
Put here to feel joy, not be blue  
Sad times and bad times ... see them through  
Soon we will know if it's for real What we both feel

Though I can't know for sure how things worked out for us  
No matter how hard it gets, you have to realize  
We weren't put here to suffer and cry  
We were made for being happy ...

So be happy ... for me, for you Please ...

Oh, oh what a pair, me and you ... Put here to feel joy, not be blue  
Sad times and bad times--see them through  
Soon we will know if it's for real

What we both feel  
We were put here, put here to feel joy""

********

**Chapter 6 (November 4, 2373)**

A Federation One News Reporter's video feed was being transmitted from Earth, a dark skinned woman on the screen, "This is Catalina Erantzo reporting for F1, "It has been three weeks since Dominion ships entered the Badlands, bombing every non-Cardassian target in the sector. The Marquis is all but destroyed and yet a some defiant few Marquis cells is still operating."

Sector 1153 A Marquis Raider dropped out of warp barely 2 kilometers from Research Station Niesahe, which orbitted the lifeless planet below. The Station's crew was surprised, about to raise shields when the Bahamut SIN dropped a photon torpedo on the power generators.

The station lost most of its power.

Two young women, 3 Bajoran men and an older Arabic woman, Fakhriyah beamed on board. The black haired woman has an old 21st century Buzz Gun and the purple skinned woman used mental attacks to knock people out.

Fakhriyah beamed out Federation phasers to the Bahamut SIN. The Bajorans set up force fields to lock in the OPS crew and took Internal Sensors off line. The purple skinned woman placed Transporters in diagnostic mode.

A Betazoid security guard flanked Alister trying to undo the sabotage being done by the Marquis. Alister heard a low frequency sonic sound upon discharge, the black haired Asian woman's over-sized barrel simultaneously flashing with a strobe-like light. The Betazoid fell like a ton of bricks, Alister checked on him, he was unconscious but unhurt.

The Asian woman winked at Alister when she noticed he is not carrying a phaser. "Alice ?" Alister said confused.

Alice yelled "Long live the Marquis"

Fakhriyah set up two distraction tactics to redirect security away from them. Alice and Mouse located medical supplies and beamed them on board.

The Bahamut SIN left the station, mission successful, the Nebula Class USS Freyja gives chase. Bahamut SIN fired golden energy bursts at the Freyja along with the last two photon torpedoes straight at the Main Bridge.

**USS Freyja - Bridge**

"Targetting is offline, switching to manual" Abby reported from tactical.

"Bring us about bearing 125 mark 346. Abby, fire phasers." Captain Par Aer commanded.

The Freyja fired phasers at the Marquis fighter. Bahamut SIN danced around the big ship, a disruptor blast blew up the Freyja's tractor beam.

"Heather can you get weapons lock ?"

"No sir. Hot slag, they ve gone to warp." Responded Heather Bowers.

"Will we go after them ?" Dalanis asked.

"No, let them go. Where are they heading?" inquired Par Aer.

"If they maintain their course, they will reach the Badlands within four minutes." Was the answer from the Andorian Lieutenant.

Par Aer walked back to his command chair and sat down. "Stand down red alert. Maal, resume our course to rendezvous with the Crazy Horse, Warp seven. Abby, do we take any damage?"

"Plasma fires on Decks 6 and 7 and 8. The computer is acting up too." Abby reported, "They have a hacker on board that ship."

"The Marquis ?" Par Aer said surprised.

As if to answer the captain's question, the computer played a warning beep and announced "Warning! System Crash"

Lock Out Codes and a timer appeared on every monitor on the ship. The Freyja was completely disabled until the 10 minute timer runs out.

**************

**Chapter 7 (June 2, 2374)**

"How much time do we have?" Alister asked. He squinted as he looked towards the ridge. He panted from the low position run he d done from the back of the perimeter.

"Four, maybe five minutes." A female Trill, Lt. Gaernet said. She was spying something through her micro-binoculars, responding to a voice that came from her commbadge. Alister knew it was Lieutenant Quina Quen who had assembled the few that were left of the remaining crew when they were forced to abandon the Copenhagen and use escape pods to reach the surface of this tiny planet. A million islands, each topped with thick jungle vegetation, which rise spectacularly from the ocean. Some islands had mountains, some with active or semi-active volcanoes. Gaernet's scans from orbit revealed several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves.

When they had finally set up a small defense post near where they had landed, which was only made up of walls of logs and three escape pods, they needed to send someone out to locate the Jem'Hadar ships that had passed over them earlier, and so Alister was chosen for this assignment. He felt lucky that they had stayed hidden for this long.

He checked the energy level of his phaser rifle, a spare battery battery, micro-binoculars and a tricorder. Gaernet looked him straight in the eye. "Take my canteen and fill yours. Otherwise the sound of the water will give away your position." Alister obeyed the order and once again squinted towards the ridge ahead. The jungle was thick and humid.

"Are you ready Maxwell?" She asked.

"I am."

"Go, then. Pinpoint the position of the enemy and report back."

Alister bolted through the perimeter and took shelter behind a large tree. He started to move slower after that and frequently stopped to scan the surroundings. He suddenly scared off a flock of reptilian like birds. He froze.

Sharp voices came from his left. He looked around. Where could he hide? There was a slope with a small stream running down from his position. It was very muddy and he decided to move fast downward. At first it went really well but as a Jem Hedar appeared above the slope and opened fire he lost his footing and slid downward. He came down hard on a small riverbank. Short of breath he crawled in to cover and send a burst transmission with the tricorder. It would provide Lt. Gaernet with the coordinates she needed. Alister looked along the beach and saw a trail of rocks going out from where he was hiding, the line of rocks into the ocean. He stepped on the rocks and went in to the water. He had left the tricorder on intense scanning mode. It would attract the enemy like moth to the flame.

He held his breath. His lungs were exploding. He had to get air, now. As his head exited the water he saw six Jem Hedar where he d left the tricorder. Too many to take out one by one. He had to run, NO they saw him. They started shooting at him. The Jem Hedar's weapons discharges hissed as hit water, dissipating a second later. From behind a trio of phaser beams killed the Jem Hedar.

Black. Alister lost consciousness. He was hurt badly by the disruptor fire. The pain woke him up, as well as the fact his lungs were on fire. He got to make it to the shore, he knew his rifle was still there, tied to his belt. Alister struggled to surface, one waves threw him into the air, another wave deposited him onto the beach. He realized that his comlink was buzzing.

"Maxwell here."

"Report back, now." Lt. Gaernet said.

"There will be Jem Hedar all over the place in a few minutes. "

*******************

**Chapter 8 (March 1, 2387)**

Alister half mocked Alice for using Marquis tactics during the raid.

Alice defended herself, "The Cardassians laughed as us, a handful of defiant women and men rebelling against the entire Cardassian Union and Starfleet. The spoonheads thought we could be defeated easily. But the heart of a Marquis beats strong. We had to take up the fight alone and drive back the Cardassians. You know the military was arming their civilians in the DeMilitarized Zone right ? We have been telling that to Starfleet for a year, NO ONE EVER LISTENED" Alice said to Alister, a little louder than necessary. This is a painful memory. "WHY DID WE HAVE TO FIGHT ALONE ?"

"We ? The Marquis is no more" Alister said flatly, "You are living in the past"

Alice grabbed Alister by his collar, she could kill him right now. Alister did not seem to care, "WHY ? WHY DID YOU NOT FIGHT WITH US ? MY MOM TRUSTED YOU INSTEAD YOU WORKED TO BEING US DOWN. I HATE YOU"


End file.
